WORLD BRIEFING / EGYPT

Egyptian authorities arrested 25 people on suspicion of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships in the Suez Canal, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The group, which Egypt said had links to Al Qaeda, was made up of two dozen Egyptians and their Palestinian leader. They also had contacts with militants in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.

The group planned to use explosives rigged with cellphone-activated detonators against shipping in the busy Suez Canal, and learned about explosives from Al Qaeda militants on militant websites, a ministry statement said.